Proposed Senate bills in the wake of Northwest Airlines' October 21 NORDO flight past MSP have some pilots on edge, fearing they may bring about "grotesque consequences," according to an article published Thursday in USA Today. Because the now notorious Northwest pilots of Flight 188 claimed they had been distracted by laptops, electronic devices in the cockpit quickly became the target of proposed legislative bans. However, pilots are concerned that such a ban could hamper attempts to introduce safety and situational awareness oriented equipment, including portable electronic charts, electronic airport maps and e-checklists/flight manuals.
Nov 20, 7:08am UTC
The FAA is proposing limits on the ability of airlines, flight schools, fractional ownership programs and other certificated organizations to hire former FAA personnel to represent them before the FAA in FAA matters.
Although supplies are limited, Teledyne Continental said this week that it's beginning to ship replacement valve lifter units to replace several thousand faulty units installed in O-240, O-360, O-470, O-520 and O-550 engines.
Customer demand, not government regulation, forced a 70% improvement in the fuel efficiency of jet aircraft over the past 40 years and further improvement should be modeled on industry and public-sector cooperation, according to Cessna CEO Jack Pelton.
The crew, a medical team, the patient and the patient's spouse aboard a medical evacuation flight from Samoa to Australia were uninjured after the Pel-Air Westwind jet ditched in the open ocean in weather that prompted the pilot to ditch rather than trying for the airport at Norfolk Island.
Our inbox filled Tuesday with readers pointing out that Buffalo Airways does not operate the last C-46 Commandos as our Monday story on the Ice Pilots NWT television series incorrectly stated.
Owners of older Mooneys now have a new option when it's time for an engine overhaul. Lycoming recently received the FAA OK to replace the original IO-360 Lycoming engine in Mooney M20E, M20F and M20J models with a new or remanufactured IO-390-A3A6 engine.
The Dubai Air Show is under way and while it's a much different experience than the outpouring of cash that marked the 2007 show, organizers and exhibitors are reporting an upbeat atmosphere.
A European court, amid strong airline protest, has set rules for the monetary compensation of passengers based on the distance of their scheduled flights and the amount of time by which passengers were delayed.
Solar Impulse, the manned aircraft that will attempt to travel nonstop around the world flying day and night on solar energy alone, moved under its own power for the first time last week.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood last week hosted the first meeting of a new advisory committee on the future of the country's aviation industry.
When the 2010 Winter Olympics launch in Vancouver next February, it will keep many local GA operators grounded for up to eight weeks, with losses of up to $5 million, CanWest News reported on Tuesday.
US Airways Capt. Chesley Sullenberger said the new book Fly By Wire, by William Langewiesche, "greatly overstates how much it mattered" that the Airbus A320 he ditched in the Hudson had some automated systems.
I invite every airline passenger to follow Matthew Sawhill's lead and write up all airline crews to their employers' customer service departments immediately. That's a great idea, actually! Maybe THAT will get management's attention, since nothing else seems to work.
I know this is an argument I cannot win, but here's my two cents.
The attitude displayed by Mr. Sawhill is just another data point to add to the already burgeoning pool a data points that clearly illuminate just how troubled the industry is: all parties are unhappy. That is the grand achievement of deregulation.
I know it may seem puzzling, Mr. Sawhill, that people with such a seemingly enviable job as flight crew actually feel a need to complain. Maybe the level of negativity you refer to is a valid indication that something is deeply wrong in the industry. Maybe, Mr. Sawhill, you should spend a year riding around with crews, living their work lives, and listening to their accounts of the insidious destruction of a once-prestigious industry before issuing such a foolish edict. It sounds to me like you need to listen more.
Maybe unhappy employees at any company are the proverbial miner's canary.
Larry Wertsch
Click through to read the rest of this week's letters.
Weather, ice, and keeping track of all those instruments can keep you pretty busy during a routine flight, eh? Imagine staying on top of the gauges in a 1940s-era cockpit, with the boys at the front lines of World War II relying on you to deliver supplies in even the most forbidding weather. The thought crossed Rick Durden's mind recently, and he knew just who to consult — a pilot who flew under those conditions day-in, day-out. Dave Hertel joins Rick in the latest installment of "The Pilot's Lounge" to reflect on challenges that might give you a few gray hairs just to read about.
Seemingly insignificant regulations can bite. So bite back and defang the FAA's oft-overlooked regs by testing your grasp of the Code of Federal Regulations. (Think old-school FARs, if you like. We do.)
From broken guitars to missed destinations to drunk pilots, airlines have been taking it on the chin recently. A little humor goes a long way to putting it all in perspective, and the following clip, which seems to have originated in a church humor blog, looks at how Lutheran Airlines makes flying a down-to-earth experience.
Like a lot of kids, Mikey McBryan grew up around airplanes but he thought it was normal to coax DC-3 engines to life at -40°. A Vancouver TV producer thought those kinds of experiences would make a cool reality series and Ice Pilots NWT premieres on Canada's History Television Wednesday night. AVweb's Russ Niles spoke with Mikey about growing up with one of the largest round-engine fleets still flying and in some of the harshest conditions on earth.
Klaus Savier's modified Vari Eze, named "The Delaminator," won the Fuelventure 400 this year for the second time in a row, flying 207 mph on 45 mpg while carrying a 400-pound payload. The race, held annually at the Copperstate air show in Arizona, aims to motivate improvements in aircraft efficiency. Savier, who is president of Light Speed Engineering, talks about how he modified the airplane and what he has in the works for next year's competition.
Students of piston engine development will probably recall the Thunder engine, a big honking V-8 aircraft engine adapted from a GMC truck engine. The project floundered and was picked up by Canada's Orenda and eventually by a Texas company called Trace. In this podcast recorded at NBAA Orlando, AVweb's Paul Bertorelli got an update on the Trace engine from Kevin Brower.
There's still a big gap between the number of male and female pilots, but Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University makes sure all students are welcome and given every opportunity for success. AVweb's Mary Grady speaks with Susan Sharp, ERAU's program coordinator for aeronautical science and advisor for the campus chapter of Women in Aviation.
The credit market is still tight, but those who want to buy an airplane and have the financial credentials to match should have no trouble. AVweb's Paul Bertorelli talks with Jim Blessing of AirFleet Capital.
Lack of capital is slowing development of the Cirrus SF 50 jet, but progress is being made. AVweb's Mary Grady speaks with Cirrus Aircraft CEO Brent Wouters.
If you don't need all the bells and whistles, PS Engineering's new $995 certified audio panel might be what you're looking for. AVweb's Paul Bertorelli speaks with Gary Picou.
Expanding its services to members, AOPA is offering medical screenings at the AOPA Summit, provided by Cook Medical. Specifically, abdominal aneurysms are a concern for pilot medical issuances, according to AOPA's director of medical certification services, Gary Crump. At the Summit, Cook Medical has set up several private examination booths, and members can get their results before leaving the show. In this podcast, Crump tells AVweb about additional medical services being offered this year at the association's health section.
AOPA's annual meeting in Tampa has a fresh look, and it's challenged its presenters to come up with some fresh ideas on the future of general aviation. AVweb's Russ Niles spoke with AOPA President Craig Fuller.
Our cup did runneth over AOPA Summit last week, but we managed some time to shoot another brief video on cool products we saw, including a Cirrus engine modification from Next Dimension, Flightline Systems' new AuRACLE Engine Monitor for legacy twins, a nifty flashlight that's really a glove, and a new Cessna 210 inspection guide from the Cessna Pilots Association.
In this video, veteran Reno Racer Thom Richard tells what it's like to wail around the pylons at Reno in a Formula 1 race aircraft. It's powered by a 100hp O-200, but Invictus — which was on display at AOPA Summit in Tampa this week — is still capable of nearly 250 MPH. It's hot, high-G work, but it's also six minutes of one of the biggest shots of adrenaline in aviation.
So what if new aircraft sales are in the tank? You can still fix up an older airframe to near new standards. Two companies at AOPA Summit were offering such upgrades, and a third, Premier Aircraft, is offering a premium upgrade to new Diamond DA40s that can include air conditioning, plus a second alternator and comfy upgraded leather seats. Nexair Avionics saw an opportunity in Avidyne's sophisticated Release 9 EFIS and is selling legacy Saratogas with this big glass upgrade. Sierra Industries is taking a similar tack, but they're using Garmin's G500 in their Super Centurion upgrade. This video offers a quick glimpse at products from all three companies.
Aspen is now shipping its new EFD 1000 companion MFD to the popular PFD. AVweb's Paul Bertorelli got a checkout with Aspen's Scott Smith prior to the AOPA Summit.
Lockheed 12 owner Joe Shepherd got the rarest of opportunities: His fully restored airplane was used in the film Amelia, now playing in cinemas across the country. Shepherd tells what it was like to play a small but important part in a major film.
Cessna moves ever closer to opening the spigot on LSA production. The company arrived at AOPA Summit with a confirming version of the 162 Skycatcher, and AVweb took a spin.
It burns 10 gallons an hour of auto gas and can do 150 knots. But is there a market for a Rotax-powered twin in the U.S.? AVweb's Jeff Van West takes a closer look at Tecnam's unique piston twin.
At AOPA Summit this week in Tampa, Florida, Garmin will roll out it's new touchscreen-based aera line of navigators. AVweb's Paul Bertorelli spent the last week wringing out a sample. Here's his video report.
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Jan 1, 10:14pm UTC
Groom Aviation has created Groom Aviation Sales to enhance its Beechcraft-oriented business. King Air sales experts Blair Sullivan and Andy Biller have joined the new company, which will specialize in Beech products but handle all types of aircraft.
The TSA has announced plans to impose stricter security requirements on FAA-certificated repair stations in the U.S. and in other countries. This week, we'd like readers to gauge the security threat posed by repair stations.
AVweb's latest "FBO of the Week" ribbon goes to another TAC Air location, this time the one Lexington, Kentucky.
AVweb reader Melvin Price spent a little more time at KLEX than he intended and got to know the FBO well when his Piper Malibu's battery died just prior to departure:
The line man immediatedly brought the battery cart, but my battery was so low that it could not maintain the alternators online. ... The adjoining maintenance shop was contacted, and they offered to charge my battery for three hours. ... While waiting for the battery to charge, the ladies behind the counter offered me the crew car and directions to a good lunch spot. ... I was very impressed with the entire operation, and the best part was that I did not have to pay for the three different external starts nor for the battery charge, although I offered. ... [E]xcept for losing a few hours of time, my visit to Lexington's TAC Air was exemplary in all ways.
Seemingly insignificant regulations can bite. So bite back and defang the FAA's oft-overlooked regs by testing your grasp of the Code of Federal Regulations. (Think old-school FARs, if you like. We do.)
